Heads-Up, Your Ice Cream Truck Treats Are Going to Cost You More This Summer
First our dollar slice, now this?
Inflation has already come for our beloved dollar slice, and now, it's threatening the fate of ice cream trucks everywhere. According to reports out of the New York Times and the Boston Globe, owners are reportedly struggling with rising gas prices and overall inflation trends.
In fact, North American Ice Cream Association Executive Director Steve Christensen says that the entire fate of the industry is up in the air. Ice cream trucks are "unfortunately becoming a thing of the past," he told the New York Times.
"These have been the worst years for ice cream trucks," Brooklyn-based ice cream man Carlos Cutz told the NYT. "I'm going to try to do the best that I can to continue with this business. I’m feeding my family, and I can't leave a business I haven't tried."
Delish reports that diesel fuel prices have risen to $7 a gallon while vanilla ice cream is up to $13 a gallon. Sprinkles have spiked as well, with 25-pound boxes costing as much as $60.
The combination has become lethal to businesses, and owners are upping their own prices just to stay afloat. Frank Sacchetti Sr. and Frank Sacchetti Jr.—who own a fleet of Boston's Best Frosty Ice Cream trucks—have increased frozen treat prices by 20% to 30%.
"We've been able to roll with the price increases and the increased overhead. So far our margins have been able to accommodate it, but there's always a question of whether that's going to hold true in the future," Sacchetti Jr. told the Globe.